Advantages

Protection of the Environment

The political goal of annual economic growth is not easily compatible with sustainable use of natural resources. A system like this fosters throw-away society in which the product life-span shrinks, sometimes even artificially, so that the consumers are forced to buy new goods again soon. But the true protection of the environment is just a worn-out phrase, the meaning of which has to give way to economic interests. The movie introduces a different system where money circulation is guaranteed, a system that is not subjected to any pressure for growth, so that the production can once again focus on the needs of people. If these needs are satisfied, zero growth is an acceptable option. In this way, resources could be preserved. In addition, the discussions about high-risk technologies, such as nuclear energy or genetic engineering, could move away from the now primary economic interests towards ethical concerns.

Unemployment

In almost all capitalistic societies, high level of unemployment is a problem that has to be taken seriously. The blame is often assigned to advances in technology which gradually make human labour superfluous. At the same time, social and ecological tasks remain unaddressed. There simply is no money to pay for labour in those areas. As things stand today, the gained profits are primarily used to pay the obligations (i.e. interests) to the people or institutions who had invested financial funds into the business. In a case where the obligations grow faster than economic performance, pay cuts and dismissals occur. If we could get rid of these interest burdens on the businesses and public budgets, the available financial resources could be used to remunerate human labour. Less labour through technical advances would in this context mean shorter working hours with the same wages. Apart from this, in a system with a money circulation guarantee, the stable level of money circulation would lead to a similarly stable level of goods circulation and consequently to a stable high level of employment. The probability of losing a job would be reduced while the chance to find a new one would be enhanced. The long-term zero interest rate would ensure stable remuneration for labour and a constant purchasing power of money.

Third World

A system with a money circulation guarantee would also have positive effects on the gap between the developed countries and the so-called third world. In our current system, the sums charities with a lot of effort collect through donations (annually approximately USD 4 billion) are just enough for the third world countries to cover their interest payments of fourteen days. Even the development aid provided by the developed states hardly equals to one fourth of the third world’s due interest payments. These figures make it clear that the only real way for the third world countries to escape this debt trap would lie with eliminating those huge interest burdens. See: “Global Development Finance” – Report http://publications.worldbank.org/GDF/) shows that operations that occur on the global financial markets have a strong influence on the developing countries. The figures in this report are, however, a bit outdated as there have been no comparable data in the “Global Development Finance”-Report since 2003.

The Growing Gap between Poor and Rich

Income that is not covered by labour causes redistribution of money from the poor to the rich. The richest tenth of the population gets even richer due to the interest payments, and that at the expense of the lower 80% who pay more interests than they receive. When interest payments disappear, this income not covered by labour, received by those who are not in need, would be as good as eliminated in a system with a money circulation guarantee. If the redistribution via interest payments did not exist, the states would not have to try in vain to balance it. Apart from the saved administrative costs of redistribution, there is one more advantage to this system, i.e. nobody would have the feeling they have to give up something they have a legal right to (as is the case with a wealth tax). Also, a system with money circulation guarantee introduces yet another option to bridge the gap between poor and rich. Nowadays, the due interest payments are the second biggest figure on the German public budget. While trying to solve the national debt crisis, almost all politicians try to increase income and decrease costs. Austerity programmes deeply affect people who depend on social and unemployment benefits, which in turn widens the gap between poor and rich. In a system with a money circulation guarantee, the interest payments could be used for socially beneficial projects.